Tag: archetype

This blog is about dream meanings. Whenever someone remembers a vivid, sometimes even terrifying dream they only want to know one thing: what does this dream mean?

Cartoon: Nate Fakes

Most people who remember a dream start looking up symbols from that dream in (online) dream dictionaries.

One of the easiest ways to determine dream meanings. But a lot of people who work professionally with dreams are dead set against dream dictionaries to help you discover dream meanings.

Cartoon: Mark Anderson

I will let you in on a little secret: Sometimes I use dream dictionaries! Among psychologist and other people who work on a professional level with dreams there is a lot of animosity against dream dictionaries.

So you can decide if you are going to use it. It is your dream, you are the only one who is able to attach meaning to it. Sometimes, a little help of a dictionary can bring new unexpected depth to a dream.

Do you use a dream dictionary? Let me know in the comments.

Dream Meanings: Shaman as Dictionary

In ancient civilizations people lived in tribes. Every tribe had a wise man/woman who used his/her dreams to guide the tribe. Towards food, away from threads. To help diagnose illnesses. Dreams were told to him/her and interpreted.

The Shaman was a walking dream dictionary. Everybody agreed on the interpretation. The Shaman had this connection with the divine world that was not open for debate.

Galba, the last Tuvan ShamanPoto: David Baxendale

Dreams in those societies were seen as a message from another world. The Shaman was a catalyst who could intercept those sacred vibes and translate them into words. Understanding which plants to use, which rites to perform to give the tribe the chances to prosper.

Around 3500 BC there is evidence of written knowledge (source Wikipedia). This allowed for knowledge to become detached from ancestors and Shamans. It also allowed for agriculture to take root among the Homo Sapiens. People began to settle down.

When science came about (astrology was one of the first scientific calculating systems to help tribes deal with crops see here).

Dream Meanings: Artemidoros

One of the oldest dream dictionary we know of today is that of Artemidoros. Where the Shaman considered a dream to be a divine intervention, Artemidoros believed that dreams had to do with predicting the future.

Dream Meanings: Future, Past & Present

I am positive that you, my dear Mindfunda reader, will assume, just like I do, that dreams say something about the past, about the present and about the future all at once.

In my Mindfunda Mutual research (click the link for a free download), I manipulated the variable time. I had 15 couples, who had to meet each other in a dream. One was assigned the role as “giver” the other the role of “receiver”.

I had a couple who lived on different parts of the world. It would almost be impossible to connect on a dream, because their dream time did not overlap.

Dali

Yes you guessed correctly: this couple was successful. The dream report of the receiver clearly stated the “gift” the sender had to give this dreamer.

What is your opinion about time in dreams? Do you think dreams predict the future? Or are dreams the voices of your past?

Dream Meanings: Collective Symbols

As I have gained more knowledge on the subject of dreams the last decades, I have come to the conclusion that there truly is a collective layer of meaning that all human beings seem to be able to “tap” into at night.

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One of the best resources for this knowledge is -in my eyes- the dictionary created by Ad and Arthur de Vries.

But I know what you are going to think now. Not every dream is archetypical.
And yes, you are right. Not every dream you remember is a life-changing earth-shaking dream.

I would love to hear your opinion about the use of dream dictionaries. i know a lot of people working on a professional level with dreams like I do are dead set against it. What do you think?

Dream experts

When I discussed this on the Facebook page of the International Dream Association, most of the dream experts indicated that in their view using a dream dictionary is a sign of inexperience with symbols.

But don’t worry. You don’t have to become a walking around symbol dictionary. Just be blunt and use them if you ever want to be inspired outside of your own comfort zone.

THIS CONTENT IS CREATED BY SUSANNE VAN DOORN, AUTHOR AND OWNER OF MINDFUNDA; MAKING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PSYCHOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY EASY TO USE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE!

What is Mindfunda about?

My name is Susanne van Doorn, I am a Dutch psychologist, blogger and author. I have been working with psychology, dreams and mythology ever since I finished my study in psychology at Tilburg University. I made this independant site to share insights, and recent scientific articles about the brain, dreams, and mythology for use in your personal life.

This posting is categorised as Dreamfunda:
Everything you need to know about dreams. Practical How to’s, the latest scientific research, the most commonly used ways to attach meaning to dreams. This and more is given to you for your everyday use in this part of Mindfunda

Finding your life path. It can be quite a journey... To my great enjoyment I saw that the International Association ...Read More

The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet Are of Imagination all compact... Shakespeare, "A Midsummer Night's Dream” Midsummer Night is ...Read More

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Joseph Campbell: the yoda of george lucas

Joseph Campbell brought mythology to the American people. His interviews with Bill Moyers, broadcasted in 1988 as “the Power of Myth” appealed to people. The easy way Joseph Campbell spoke about myths, compared myths as answers to worldwide challenges of the human race, it hit a core within a lot of people.

Cartoon: Lowe

George Lucas, director of the Star Wars episodes, called Campbell his own Yoda. They met in 1984, and Campbell and his wife Jean visited the ranch of Lucas to watch three Star War films. Joseph allegedly said: “‘You know, I thought real art had stopped with Picasso, Joyce, and Mann. Now I know it hasn’t.”

It was George Lucas who introduced Campbell to Moyers and made the interviews of “the Power of Myth” possible.

Unleashing your Yoda by Joseph Campbell tip #1

Everything is a metaphor

It might sound simple, but please don’t shrug your shoulders. Do you know how much your perspective on the world changes once you see everything, including yourself, as a symbol, a part of a greater unity of meaning?

“One of the most effective ways to rediscover in any myth or legend the spiritual ‘tenor’ of its symbolic “vehicles” is to compare it, across the reaches of space, or of time, with homologous forms from other, even greatly differing traditions” (page 201).

If you look at the story of your life and consider yourself a metaphor, which one would it be? What is the first thing that pops up in your mind? Let me know in the comments!

UNLEASHING YOUR YODA BY JOSEPH CAMPBELL TIP #2

There is such a thing as a mythical archetype

We all know archetypes. Images we know universally, like the old wise man. But before I read this book, I had never realised that there are specific archetypes that indicate mythological themes.

Image: seanbolton.me on pinterest

The Tree of Life is an example of a mythological archetype.

How does this make your life easier you might ask? Well, according to Campbell: “Like life itself, such mythological archetypes simple are” (page 234).

But now you are going to be disgruntled with me. We have uncovered mythological archetypes just to find out we are not supposed to do anything with it. That takes me to tip #3.

UNLEASHING YOUR YODA BY JOSEPH CAMPBELL TIP #3

East is different from West

Thinking that we have to act all the time to change our fates, our lives and turn things around for the better is not always necessary. Campbell clearly distinguishes a difference between East and West.

“Oriental Mythology”: “the rich yet essentially unified major province represented by the philosophical myths and mythological philosophies of India, Southeast Asia, China and Japan-to which should be joined the much earlier yet spiritually related mythological cosmologies of archaic Mesopotamia and Egypt” (page 19).

This mythology assumes a cyclic view on life. “there was never a time when time was not, nor will there be a time when time will have ceased to be”.

Cartoon: Cuyler Black

Ha, but now you are going to say (and that why I love you reader): we in the West have adopted an Eastern religion. Yahweh was a god of Israel. An old god who originated in the Iron Age.

The difference between East and West in a mythological sense is in the fact that the Western god is a person, while the Eastern god is and energy. The Western god is a person that is easily offended, kicks people out of paradise and puts a ward outside to make sure they will never get back in again.

The Eastern religions encourage people to embrace the energies within and enter the paradise, not after death but in waking life. By meditating, by eating certain foods, using certain herbs and acting in specific ways.

So what can we learn from Campbell: put all religion in its historical perspective.

UNLEASHING YOUR YODA BY JOSEPH CAMPBELL TIP #4

Mythology reconciles consciousness with the preconditions of its own existence. Life sucks. Good news is: it sucks for everybody, there are no exceptions. Mythology helps you to make sense of the earth, the injustice in this world, it helps you come to terms with the fact that you have to kill to stay alive.

The second is a cosmological function.

Mythology offers an image of the universe and your place in it. “All things should be recognized as parts of a single great holy picture, an icon as it were: the trees, the rocks, the animals, sun, moon, and stars, all opening back to mystery, and thus serving as agencies of the first function, as vehicles and messengers of teaching” (page 220).

The third is a sociological function.

Mythology paints a picture of the cosmos and in doing so they paint your place in it. A mythology serves as a rulebook for social behaviour.

Think about how in the bible there are the ten commandments of Moses: those are social rules that guide people to live together in relative harmony.

The fourth function of mythology is psychological.

This lies at the root of any myth. Each mythological tale can shape you as a person. Human beings are young relatively long. All of a sudden you are supposed to take care of yourself. You go from a place were you take orders from your parents and follow their rules to a position were you are the one solving the problems.

You have a second social birth: you need to manifest yourself in the world and understand the rules. And those rules are often unwritten. Rules like: greet everyone you meet on the street, don’t offend your boss/husband/wife, laugh when you are the subject of a joke…

UNLEASHING YOUR YODA BY JOSEPH CAMPBELL TIP #5

Dreams are our personal myths

As stated above, mythology has a cosmological function. The cosmos is filled with mysterious energies. Campbell describes it as a “sphere”. The Dream Consciousness is such a sphere.

“The deities of vision are of this sphere and of the same luminous stuff as dream. Accordingly, the vision and the visionary, though apparently separate, are one, and all the heavens, all the hells, all the gods and demons, all the figures of the mythic worlds, are within us as portions of ourselves -portions that is to say, that are of our deepest primary nature, and thus of our share of nature” (page 212).

So dear Mindfunda reader, dream on!

CONCLUSION

PRO

This is a yummy book. Easy to read, enjoyable, entertaining and you will learn a thing or two underway;

There is a whole chapter on the Goddess;

The first part of the book puts mythology in a historical perspective;

The second part of the book puts mythology in a creative perspective;

Both perspectives give you new perspectives on mythologies: even when you thought you knew Joseph Campbell by now, this book can be regarded as a groundwork of his whole work.

CON

Campbell’s monomyth is a bit dated. Campbell was cherry-picking and constructing his hero myth. He died 33 years ago, mythology has moved on now;

The hero story is a male story, it is not particularly tuned into the female gender.

THIS CONTENT IS CREATED BY SUSANNE VAN DOORN, AUTHOR AND OWNER OF MINDFUNDA; MAKING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PSYCHOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY EASY TO USE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE!

What is Mindfunda about?

My name is Susanne van Doorn, I am a Dutch psychologist, blogger and author. I have been working with psychology, dreams and mythology ever since I finished my study in psychology at Tilburg University. I made this independant site to share insights, and recent scientific articles about the brain, dreams, and mythology for use in your personal life.

This posting is categorised as Mythofunda:
“Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths” Joseph Campbell used to say. This part of Mindfunda shows you how your personal mythology can create peace in your life.

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Lidia Adaman-Tremblay is a wise woman, a Crone. The path of life for a woman, is to travel through all the stages of the Goddess: the young and fertile Maiden, the nurturing Mother and the wise Crone. A Crone is a woman who has been through hell and back, and on her travels she has gained secret knowledge.

The Moon is connected with the Goddess. The Moon grows each month, from young maiden into full moon-mother, than diminishes again, to vanish out of the sky, only to be reborn again after a period of complete darkness.

This is a very personal book, with notes of Lidia her dreams. I will pick some very interesting dreams to show you the Four Features of dreams of the Crone. Let me know in the comments if you agree with those 4 features of the Crone. Did I miss one?

The Crone and invisibility

Older women are considered to be a nuisance. In the book Aging and Becoming, written by Susan Scott and Susan Schwartz, there is a moving story about the way women, while aging, start to feel like they are invisible.

Of course, we are all emancipated, but we do miss male appreciation once we get older. It is difficult to cope with because, on the one hand, you don’t want to be bothered by the lack of male attention. You are grown up, independent and not interested in flirting any more. You are way beyond that.

But on the other hand, there is this nagging feeling in your heart. You feel like an era has gone. It has slipped through your fingers and you did not even notice that time was of the essence.

This stage of a woman’s life is very well portrayed in this dream of Lidia:

“The Maiden is being initiated into womanhood. The public ceremony proceeds (I remember little of this), and The Maiden is covered with a long white shroud, as though she is being prepared for a funeral.

Throughout the whole procedure, I am starting to feel angry and upset. Part of me stands aside and observes the ritual, which is gentle and beautiful. This part of me recognizes the importance of each element. This part is also observing what is happening within me, the rise of these emotions, and is asking, “Why? Why is this happening?”

People ignore me and a murmur of approval wafts from them. No one seems to even see me or react to me, and that one small part of me which is still objective is shaking its head, asking me what has caused this breakdown (page 119)”.

As the Maiden is being prepared for her grave, she is unveiled. Youth is gone, there is nothing more to hide now.

Ha! You dear reader are going to notice how I just explained the invisibility of the Crone with the unveiling of the Maiden. But that is alchemy!

By disrupting the process, the crowd shows so little respect for the Maiden that the Crone needs to get upset. The Crone needs to help the Maiden. This is one of the initiations a woman has when she enters the kingdom of the Crone.

THE CRONE AND Animal Energy

Coming of age, each woman has to have acknowledged and balanced out her animal side. Here is a dream that clearly shows this balancing process.

“Suddenly, all kinds of animals appear before and around me. Thousands and millions of them. They part around me, and I see them all – rhinos, elephants, every type of bear, dogs, wolves, foxes – they come at me in waves – now the lizards, snakes, scorpions, – more and more of them rumble, slither and fly around me.

I hear a voice from somewhere saying, ‘And thus will balance be restored’, as though it’s an old Cecil B. DeMille spectacular movie with the voice of God ordering Noah or Moses. But this voice is different – it’s neither male nor female, or maybe both. Not thundering, but gentle and caring. After hours or centuries of seeing this rush of animals, the last one I see is a stick-like light beige insect on the hide of an elephant – or perhaps my wall. I recognize that nature, from the trees to all the animals have been given their right to exist, pushing humanity out of its arrogance into the folds of natural existence, pushing us off our self-made pedestals” (page 276).

The animals indicate so many aspects of ourselves. Here I see the enormous number of animals indicating three things:

within us we have an infinite amount of characteristics that are innate to our being and come to us through the process of having evolved from “lower” stages of animals, characteristics of being animal that are still with us;

the characteristics within us can all be represented by animal, the power of the lion, the grace of a bird, the agility of the monkey, the cleverness of the fox, animals represent all these and more within us;

all these aspects of ourselves are also present in the animal world and we are connected through our inner states to those animals in the outer waking world, each animal representing a different characteristic for which they are the archetype for and which have a corresponding symbol within us;

The animals come in waves, to me that is a clear indication that this dream refers to inner energy, what are your thoughts about that? What does a certain kind of animal tell you about your connection to the outer world?

The crone and THE teaching of isis

“Isis was the greatest goddess in Egypt and was worshiped for over 3,000 years, from pre-dynastic times – before 3000 BC – until the second century AD, when her cult and many of her images passed directly on to the figure of Mary” (page 225).

And Lidia shares a phenomenal dream about Isis. Such dreams tell you that you have embraced the Crone.

“I am with a group of women. We are all dressed in long white gowns, and are in a large open space under the blazing sun. The earth beneath our sandaled feet is parched and dry, but with a deeply etched labyrinth clearly seen. Some of the women are setting up candles and incense at certain points within the Sacred Circle.

Isis by Laurence Bernier

Candles glitter like diamonds, the incense smoke curves into a sphere, making me heady with the rich scent. And I take my first steps along the twisting pathway…” (page 26).

Ah, don’t you love that dream? The white gowns of rebirth, the labyrinth of life. We all wish to arrive at that stage of our life that we can see our path as a labyrinth, to know that we are on the right path, a path that leads us unerringly to our Center and then back out.. To walk a labyrinth, you must have intuition, reason and trust. What a gift, the Crone has to give!

Crone and animus

The last Feature of Crone Dreams is the way they embrace animus energy. The animus is the male-part in any woman. I have created a Mindfunda Movie about male and female initiation in our current society. It features two films about male initiation: The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction and two films about female initiation: Girl Interrupted and Pan’s Labyrinth.

This dream of Lidia gives a perfect example of this inner male/female balance.

“I’m with a group of people who are so androgynous I become quickly confused as to who is who here. Their fluid sexuality presents each with equal male and female aspects. One of them approaches me and says that we are to be married. ‘Oh really,’ I think to myself, ‘since when?’ Nevertheless, I know deep inside me that this is true, that somewhere back in time, we two were pledged to one another.

We walk away from the rest of the group. At first this person presents himself as solidly male. Dressed in a white suit with a burgundy shirt, he walks with a gait and speaks as any man would. For a while I don’t ask any of the questions that are crowding in my mind, but then, after a while, I enquire, “Are you truly a man?” (page 195).

That is one of the cool things of getting older. Genderbending is a hobby of many elderly people. We just don’t care so much anymore about being gender specific.

Conclusion:

PRO

This book is best used as resource of dreams. A dream well that allows you to see what kinds of different dreams there are compare themes to their your dreams;

The author provides no interpretations to the dreams, this is a chance to try one’s hand at seeing if there is an obvious meaning to the dream itself, in-and-of-itself, without connecting to anything in the waking world. In short, can a dream stand entirely on its own and still have meaning? And, what if these were your dreams? What feelings, thoughts, emotions, body sensations arise as you read through the book? Treat this book as a collection of poems and short stories that, when woven together, are the tale of a year in the life of a dreamer;

Lidia is an exceptionally gifted dreamer, who often remembers more dreams each night. In that way she is an inspiration and an example to everyone who wants to be inspired by dreams.

CON

The author provides no context for the dreams, particularly lacking is mention of why the book was written and what the purpose of it might be.

I missed a prologue to this year-long diary of dreaming would be nice. What is Lidia hoping to accomplish by sharing her dreams?

I missed a brief discussion at the end of each month about events that transpired, dream connections to people and events during the month, and some mention as to how the dreaming of that month affected the author, reactions she had to the dreams, and how the dreaming interacted with the waking world.

Because I missed a prologue, I also missed an epilogue to sum up what this year of dreaming meant and felt like, and especially how it felt to put together a year’s worth of dreams in a book, and then present it to the public dreaming audience.

THIS CONTENT IS CREATED BY SUSANNE VAN DOORN, AUTHOR AND OWNER OF MINDFUNDA; MAKING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PSYCHOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY EASY TO USE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE!

What is Mindfunda about?

My name is Susanne van Doorn, I am a Dutch psychologist, blogger and author. I have been working with psychology, dreams and mythology ever since I finished my study in psychology at Tilburg University. I made this independant site to share insights, and recent scientific articles about the brain, dreams, and mythology for use in your personal life.

This posting is categorised as Dreamfunda:
Everything you need to know about dreams. Practical How to’s, the latest scientific research, the most commonly used ways to attach meaning to dreams. This and more is given to you for your everyday use in this part of Mindfunda

Comments or suggestions? Share your thoughts:

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We hate Spam as much as you do, your information is safe with us and we will not provide your data to others. To authenticate you are human, you are kindly asked to opt-in on periodic updates as the Mindfunda Monthly.

How do you analyse a dream that clearly features an Archetype ? This blog gives you four easy steps. This is part two of a series of HOW TO blogs about dreams on Mindfunda. Each one features a case study in which I carefully, step by step attribute meaning to dream symbols. Number one is How to Use A Dream as a Tool for Self Development. Number one features a small dream. A few days later Bonnie Connelly posted this dream on her Facebook group Painting the Dream.

While I read it and admired the beautiful artwork she made, it became clear to me that this was an archetypical dream. In this blog I explain you how to analyse a dream that features an archetype. Four easy steps, four questions to ask yourself/the dreamer whenever you encounter an archetype in a dream.

Four Bears, the Tree of Life and the Pregnant Water Bearer

Drawing by Bonnie Connelly

In the first part of this dream which I vague recall, I am in a boat on a large lake – as if I arrived on a boat… I have arrived with Catherine who is in early pregnancy. I am bringing her to a woman who is refusing to see her because Catherine intends to terminate the pregnancy. I look out at the lake, its distant coastline, and the small boat that I will be returning in. The lake is calm and peaceful and smooth like a mirror. I think to myself, “I can do that.”

Now from a position of standing in the water [although I don’t feel the water] observing Catherine on the shore. I see a black bear above her in a tree. I call out to her, “Catherine, there’s a bear!” She doesn’t seem to hear me. Then I see four bears in the tree shaking it wildly. “Catherine! Catherine!” She moves to the other side of the tree I think she sees the bears and is ok. End Of Dream

Feeling: it felt powerful – like something shifted

Reality check: Catherine in the dream was in a dream group with me a few years ago, a fellow Aquarian, Water Bearer – lives in southern California now, like I did. I was 20 years older than her – we had a lot in common – and felt very motherly towards her. She was not able to get pregnant from what I understand so this speak in the dream! She has been posting a lot of political posts on FB so I am seeing her a lot these days on FB

How to analyse a dream with an archetype Step 1:

The beginning of a dream often tells you something about the main theme the dream is addressing. This dream begins at a lake. There is an undeniable relationship between water and life. Without water, human life is not possible. What defines a lake is that a lake is surrounded by land. It does not have any outlet that serves to feed or drain the living principle. It is a depression in the earth that serves to collect water and in that way keeps the dreamer alive emotionally. So you might assume that this dream addresses something about the emotional life of the dreamer.

Early on, the second dream carter is introduced: a lady named Catherine. I usually find out what names mean to see if this gives any symbolic value to the dream. On the site Behind the Name Catherine is attributed to the Goddess of Dreams Hecate, a Goddess associated with witchcraft, magic and dreams.

HOW TO ANALYSE A DREAM WITH AN ARCHETYPE STEP 2:

The first conflict introduced in the dream is the moment when the dreamer begins to dissociate herself from the dream scene. There is a shift in perspective the moment the third lady who disagrees with terminating the pregnancy is introduced.

I look out at the lake, its distant coastline, and the small boat that I will be returning in. The lake is calm and peaceful and smooth like a mirror. I think to myself, “I can do that”.

The dreamer now has returned to the earth. She looks back at the lake and the lake is like a mirror. In mythology the magic mirror lets you see things that are not apparent to the “normal viewer”. In this part of the dream you see that the lake has much significant value in it to tell the dreamer about the Self. The dreamer looks back and sees her opportunities: “I can do that”.

The transition is clear: the boat of life will take her to the next phase. Bonnie’s reference to the political messages of Catherine on Facebook suggest that the anti abortion rule President Trump signed a few days after his legislation might play a role in this dream. Copy – pasted from the site buzzfeed.com:

“Here’s how it works: Foreign organizations that take US family planning money can’t use any money, from any other donor, on abortion-related services. It’s a restriction on how they use their other, non-US government money, and it applies to providing abortions or giving any information about abortion, including medical advice or referrals — even in countries where abortion is legal”.

In that sense, the wish for dream Catherine to end her pregnancy is a sign of independency. An archetypical dream as a political statement? I would not be surprised!

HOW TO ANALYSE A DREAM WITH AN ARCHETYPE STEP 3:

Look at the progression the dream makes. The dreams suggest to embrace the Goddess archetype even further. Four bears are introduced, all hugging the Tree of Life. The three Goddesses of the first stage of the dream: Bonnie, Catherine and the lady who refuses to see Catherine, the Triple Goddess has now revealed a fourth manifestation: the bear. From an archetypical perspective the bear is associated with Artemis. Artemis is the bear goddess. In ancient Europe, there used to be a bear cult. In Athens girls were sent to Brauron to serve Artemis for one year at the temple.

The progression the dream makes here is that it takes the dreamer, who has just explored her Self image in the mirror of the lake, into a path of initiation. The bear is the dreaming animal. In the winter it sleeps for months. If you look at the drawing you see that three bears look at the left, female side. One bear looks at the right (male) side. If it was my dream, this would suggest an initiation into the depths of femininity.

HOW TO ANALYSE A DREAM WITH AN ARCHETYPE STEP 4:

See how this integrates in the life of the dreamer right now. Bonnie points out that for her, bears are connected to Chiron, the wounded healer. Quoted from the site ncbi.nlm.gov. from the author Serge Daneault MD. Ph.D:
“The Greek gods Apollo and Artemis taught medicine to Chiron. Chiron was wounded by an arrow from Heracles’ bow. He did not die (because gods are immortal); instead, he suffered excruciating pain for the rest of his eternal days. It was because of his grievous wound that Chiron became known as a legendary healer in ancient Greece”.

This brings Artemis back to her alchemical qualities of ancient Mother Goddess: she unites present and past, she ties archetypical dream – strings together and stews one of the finest tasting dream stories for the thankful receiver.

Bonnie’s final comments on this step by step dream analyses:

“Your seeing the triple goddess [the maiden, the mother and the crone [wise grandmother?]- that was a good catch! And as this was the last dream of the month of January – the first one to start the month was Titled ‘Witch Troubles’ – I just see this book cover flash in front of my eyes. So that Catherine is attributed to the Goddess of Dreams – a goddess associated with witchcraft, magic and dreams – this resonates! I like your take on Catherine’s wanting to end her pregnancy is a sign of independence – she is extremely independent – not married

Anyway thanks again for this pleasure of seeing how you work with dreams – excellent!”

Bonnie

What are your thoughts?

How would you interpret a dream filled with so many archetypical symbols? I would love to hear from you.

My next blog will be a Q&A: the questions that are usually asked when people want to know what their dreams mean, and the answers to those questions. The last blog is about the questions you should be asking when you want to know what a dream means.

THIS CONTENT IS CREATED BY SUSANNE VAN DOORN, AUTHOR AND OWNER OF MINDFUNDA; MAKING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PSYCHOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY EASY TO USE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE!

What is Mindfunda about?

My name is Susanne van Doorn, I am a Dutch psychologist, blogger and author. I have been working with psychology, dreams and mythology ever since I finished my study in psychology at Tilburg University. I made this independant site to share insights, and recent scientific articles about the brain, dreams, and mythology for use in your personal life.

This posting is categorised as Dreamfunda:
Everything you need to know about dreams. Practical How to’s, the latest scientific research, the most commonly used ways to attach meaning to dreams. This and more is given to you for your everyday use in this part of Mindfunda

Comments or suggestions? Share your thoughts:

Your Name (required)

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We hate Spam as much as you do, your information is safe with us and we will not provide your data to others. To authenticate you are human, you are kindly asked to opt-in on periodic updates as the Mindfunda Monthly.

Several years ago I had a chance to get a tarot reading from Sherry Puricelli. It gave the dream that I discussed with her so much more meaning. It was a dream that bothered me a bit because in my dream I could not get forward. And after Sherry had guided me by asking questions and consulting the tarot I really felt that the message of the dream was something that I needed to hear at that time in my life. Besides being a very good dream coach Sherry also writes moving poems. I am so glad she decided to bring all the goodness she has to offer in this guest blog for Mindfunda.

Sherry Puricelli

Sherry Puricelli, MHA, M.Div. is a Dream Coach and owner of AwakeNDream, LLC. in Madison, Connecticut. She specializes in empowering individuals to recognize and activate archetypal themes to aid in personal healing and breakthroughs. She facilitates specialized retreats, workshops, group and individual sessions. Sherry is the IASD Regional Representative for Connecticut.

Healing: recognizing archetypes

I’ve heard it said that life can break us or we can break through. Well, I’ve found a tool that helps me break through. Being a dreamer, noticing archetypal themes has always come naturally to me. Over time, I began to perceive repetition and overlap between my dreams, my waking life, and my meditations / contemplations. I observed that archetypal themes seem to weave in and out of my life or I weave in and out of the archetypal themes or perhaps it’s both. At any rate, I can’t imagine my life without the enrichment, healing, and breakthroughs I’ve experienced by recognizing and living deeply profound themes.

Archetypal themes have even more power when I express them artistically. The creative process forces me to slow down so I don’t just skim the surface. Instead, I plunge right in, living and breathing the archetypes. I’ve noticed that each archetypal theme has an inherent challenge, so I attempt to stay with it until I’ve gotten through that challenge, all the way through it, so I can reflect and absorb the insights and lessons learned. I appreciate that each archetypal theme has gifts, lessons, and new awareness.

Healing and poems

As I participate in the creative process, I’m taken to a whole new level. The theme becomes multi-sensory, visceral, and I feel it in my bones. When I create the digital art, I attempt to include at least one photo of an image present when I was experiencing the archetypal theme. I imagine that the energy is real, it’s tangible, living and breathing. If this hypothesis is true, the digital image carries that actual energy, so the person seeing it has the opportunity to experience the energy of the breakthrough and to hold that breakthrough energy in his/her hands.

And what if there’s more? I love poetry. I write poetry for each of the archetypal themes as I’m experiencing it. The magic of poetry is that it helps me deeply feel the emotional content of the archetypal theme. When I write the poetry I attempt to embody each of the predominant emotions I felt as I was experiencing the archetypal theme in my dreams and waking life synchronicities. I ascertain that poetry carries the energy blueprint of the emotional breakthrough.

Used together, with art and poetry, imagine the possibilities. If we’re in need of healing, we hold healing energy in our hands, we work with it, we sleep with it, we dream with it, and we meditate with it as needed until our energy has shifted.

In the meantime, our senses are heightened, we experience life more fully, and we see the many connections and patterns in our lives. This mindset opens us up to choice. We are not victims of circumstance when we recognize and utilize our choices. We’re empowered to boldly engage in the life we make for ourselves. We hold the power to heal. We hold the power to break through.

When I can’t keep up,or cannot make the climb, you are the charger of my soul;when I fall,you bleed, and reveal your scar so I can learn self-healing;when I lay broken,you show me flowers that broke open too,erupting into gardens of inner beauty;whenever I call,Mother in my dreams,you continually cycle back to me…bringing me home, dancing me home, singing me home,with empathy, painted – with colorful drops of Gaia.

Mother of cycles,you are eternal Home to me;in the theatre of our mutual dream,I have buried your key;we’re dancing rainbowsin timeless time,spaceless space,and deathless death;you’ve been with me always,since before my first lullaby,and after my last step.

We live in an uncertain world. Using tarot is one of several ways to decrease that uncertainty. One of the most common things is to look at the past to predict the future. People are often hired for work using that method. But there are more ways, fun ways to decrease uncertainty. One of them is to use the tarot to predict the future. Do you think tarot can predict the future? What are your experiences?

Rider Waite tarot deck on Amozon.com

When I was a lot younger I used to draw tarot cards. I made it into a ritual. I sat down, relaxed my body and focussed on the problem that bothered me the most. Then I spread out my deck of cards in a circle (I used the Rider Waite Tarot but use your own set of preference, there are many). Picking 1 – 3 cards out of the circle: one for the past, one present and one future. Many times things actually happened like the tarot predicted… But I never use the tarot that way any more. I do not believe the tarot can predict the future…

Carl Jung was one of the first persons to describe archetypes. It is a rather vague concept. Scrolling the net to find a definition I find this one: (in Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches. (here is the source).
Vague yes but we all intuitively grasp the concept of archetypes. We all think, or like to believe that people are united by a common heritage. A knowledge inherited from our ancestors. New research in genetics has found evidence for genetical transmission of environmental data between generations. So genetical inheritance for basic concepts in a culture seems logical.

To predict the future you need to know a lot. And even then you can go wrong. Things can evolve in unexpected ways. People can react differently then you expected, and a sudden break or a sudden tragedy can occur in your own life as well as in the lives of people around you creating a whole new mixture of variables to react upon.

Tarot is a valuable asset in your life

So why did I write this article? I believe that tarot is a valuable asset in your life. If you can comprehend archetypes and know which one people use the most (we all have our favorite archetypical ways of acting and reacting) you can take action with more certainty.

To help you I am in the creating process of a Tarot work-book consisting of 22 digital chapters, one PDF for each card of the Major Arcana. Each chapter I discuss a card of the major arcana as a step in a process of initiation. An initiation is a process of being taught secrets only a selected group of people know. The first initiation in the tarot is the process from Magician (card 1) to Hermit (card 9). The second initiation is the process of The Wheel of fortune (card 10) to the Moon (card 18). The last three cards of the major arcana show the accomplishments of the journey. You are on your way to comprehend bigger mysteries of life.

The first chapter of the upcoming tarot work-book is now available as a free download if you signup here!